Wastewater treatment in South Africa: Only 13% plants meet minimum standards. There has been very little, if any, improvement in the management of South Africa’s water supply and sewage treatment systems during the past five years, Down To Earth reports.

Outflow from only 13 per cent (20 out of 150) of sewage treatment plants in South Africa comply with the minimum standards for release into a water source, a new report showed.

The number of non-compliant plants has increased six percentage points from 81 per cent in 2023, according to the ‘green drop’ test carried out by AfriForum, a South African non-profit. It tests the discharge of treated sewage water from local wastewater treatment facilities (see Blue News here).